Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters – Live In The UK (Crosscut Records).

This live recording made in Oxford, Swindon and Leicester during November 2004 is an excellent introduction to the world of Memo Gonzalez and his Bluescasters. First up is the standard, yet powerful, R&B of You Got Me Rollin’. Kai Strauss’ staccato guitar is the star of the show here. I’ve Been Thinking is a rolling blues much in the Kansas City style and this is top class fare with Memo throwing in a bit of Love Me Do during his harmonica piece. The band move it up a notch for the fast-paced R&B of What You’re Doing To Me before going off into the blues with Greyhound. This features Kai Strauss on guitar and he excels on this powerful crowd pleaser. Angel In High Heels could be nothing other than rock & roll and its fast paced, lively delivery keeps the crowd in good fettle and really gets them going. With the crowd now firmly on their side the Bluescasters trot out an Elvis cover in the shape of His Latest Flame. The shuffling beat is fine but, not surprisingly, not as good as the original. The guitar break does, however, add something that the original did not have.

Howlin’ Wolf meets Bo Diddley on I Wanna Ramble/Feelin’ Good and despite talking his way through some of the lyrics, Memo makes this a highlight with Strauss really stealing the show. Louisiana Lover Man is a lonesome sundown song, a Southern style boogie that gets the crowd on its feet again but You Got What You Wanted is standard fare and nothing else. Tell Me What’s The Reason is a swing blues that has Gonzalez urging the band for more and Strauss holding it all together as ever. The band keeps up the festivity with I Wanna Ask You Pretty Baby -- Texas party music – that sums it up pretty well. This is definitely music to have a good time to and the good time continues right to the end with Big Time Operator, one of the best songs on offer.

If you want a good night out you could do worse than popping in to see Memo Gonzalez & The Bluescasters.

http://www.memogonzalez.com/
http://www.crosscut.de/

David Blue.

Eric Bibb – Diamond Days (Telarc Blues).

The word legend is used far too often these days but Eric Bibb is a well on his way to becoming one. His blend of tender blues, folk and roots music has won him fans all over the planet and I am delighted at getting a chance to review his latest offering, Diamond Days. He starts, complete with authentic crackles, with Tall Cotton and immediately his velvet voice just cradles your senses and by the time that you get to the end of Still Livin’ On you will wonder where the last 44 minutes or so have gone. Tall Cotton has a strong African folk influence with Kahanga ‘Master Vumbi’ Dekula on Hi-life guitar a standout. Destiny Blues is self-penned, as are 11 of the 12 tracks on the album, and is a quirky acoustic blues. Jenny Bohman is quite a surprise on this as it builds up very well. Eric gets a groove on for Shine On and sets up an all round, classy song. This is personified by Bibb’s silky vocal and Bohman’s short harp bursts – a highlight. So Glad is spiritual in its composition and its delivery and the plain and simple technique used is so effective. This is followed by the bluesy, bouncy Storybook Hero before Eric tells it how it is on the eponymous title track. This tale of life’s highs and lows is again delivered in Eric’s gentle style and sends out a strong message.

There’s some more mild country style blues on Dr. Shine and this is another fine example of Eric’s storytelling ability. The addition of Jim Shearer on tuba gives it a New Orleans feel. Heading Home has a contemporary feel but still gives you that comforting glow with Mats Oberg turning in some Larry Adler style harmonica. You get a feel of what an Eric Bibb concert would be like via the live recording of In My Fathers House. This is a raunchy, urban blues and shows him to be a superb live performer – I’m sorry that I missed him on his recent trip to Scotland – with the band giving it some real acoustic stick. Things are slowed down again for Forgiveness Is Gold with its anti-war message delivered by a velvet glove. If there is to be a definitive Eric Bibb song on this album then, ironically, it is the Bob Dylan written Buckets Of Rain. This is a country blues with just Eric on vocal and the superb Martin Simpson on acoustic guitar – probably the highlight of the album. The album closes with Still Livin’ On and he finishes in the same vein that he has produced throughout the album. Gentle country blues is the order of the day as he pays tribute to many of his heroes including John Lee Hooker, Reverend Gary Davis and Pop Staples, amongst others. He finishes with the authentic crackles too! There’s two added surprises in the form of a lovely version of the traditional Worried Man Blues and a video of Eric in his favourite Parisian guitar shop where he treats us to three impromptu songs on a 1930s Gibson acoustic. I have to give a mention to the fact that Eric gives us the guitar chords to some of the songs on the album sleeve just to give us mortals the chance of emulating the great man. I’m off to dust down the old guitar for one last shot at stardom!

http://www.ericbibb.com/

David Blue.

BB & The Blues Shacks – Live At Vier Linden (Crosscut Records).

BB & The Blues Shacks is fronted by brothers Andreas and Michael Arlt and derive their unique style from the blues and R&B of the 40s and the 50s. They open with the high energy boogie of Hot Shot Bop and Andreas Arlt is given the spotlight for this instrumental – he does not disappoint. Michael Arlt adds his vocal for the rock & roll swinger, You Can Always Depend On Me and he responds to the enthusiastic crowd by showing that he is a more than capable live singer. The band stay in the rock & roll/boogie vein for Let’s Get Crazy and it’s becoming more obvious that Andreas’ guitar is the focal point for the group. Having said that, the rhythm section also plays their part with barrelhouse piano from Dennis Koeckstadt and driving bass & drums from Henning Hauerken and Andreas Rock respectively. Michael’s harmonica also gets an airing on this one and it’s all very passable. Next up is She’s Got Her Eyes On Me with reverb on full and harp on a high. This is a blues based swinger and they play so well that it’s very hard not to like this lot.

Andreas Alst is such a distinctive guitarist and the bouncy, fun blues of Can’t Hide Love is the perfect showcase – there’s even a bit of the Harry Lime theme thrown in for good measure. Lose My Mind is a high octave rocker with storming harmonica and Stompin’ And Rollin’ continues the fast pace as Koeckstadt rocks the joint. They can play the blues as well and Good Night’s Sleep is a Chicago blues that sounds as if it’s straight from Chicago, not Germany. Andreas Alst on guitar is nothing short of excellent as usual and he takes the audience in the palm of his hand during the quiet section of the song. There’s more of Andreas’ guitar excellence on Hear My Baby Naggin’ and Letters From My Baby shows how well the band can flit between blues and rock & roll. The closing track, Ain’t A Home No More is a bit of a blues chugger. It plods along very well but the Alst brothers cook it up towards the end of this eight minute, ground-out boogie. The band gives it their all throughout and this is exemplified by Michael Alst who blows his lungs out to the finish.

Also available is a twelve track DVD that has six different tracks from the CD. The DVD also has background information on the band and gives you an idea of what to expect at a Blues Shacks gig. The live arena is certainly their field and they have obviously honed their stagecraft on their many tours throughout Europe and the USA.

http://www.crosscut.de/
http://www.bluesshacks.com/

David Blue.

Jimmie Bratcher -- Red (Ransom Music).

Jimmie Bratcher, or rather, the Reverend Jimmie Bratcher, is a guitar toting Christian Blues rocker that is likely to pull up to his gigs on a motor bike. Have you got a picture of him yet? Red is his third album but it's the first that I've heard so it's a new set of ears for the Reverend. Red opens with Bad Religion, a Southers style boogie with drawled vocals and slide guitar. As openers go it's not too flamboyant and is a good, solid start. Bratcher gives a plaintive vocal performance on Mercy but he funks up the melody with the excellent addition of horns. This is very different from the opener and his voice gets stronger throughout the song. He shows that he's not just a one trick pony and there's some good interaction between guitar and brass. I See Red is an excellent blues rocker -- all pomp and circumstance and Drive is R&B that drifts into soul. T.J. Herrick gets his chance to shine on saxophone and the horns give it an all round fuller sound. Jimmie throws in some New Country on Dance With Me and it's a bit out of touch with what has gone before. Having said that, this is a very, very good song but I wonder what style Bratcher feels more comfortable with. Restless For The Son is smooth, sultry and sophisticated jazz club fare.

Another style is shown on Beautiful People. This Country Rock has Jimmie in strong vocal mood and although I expected more guitar fills, the short guitar solo is fine. We are given a genuine blues on Three Chords and it's an interesting idea to play the words around the three chords that everyone thinks that all blues consist of. This has a very strong guitar performance and the horns will just blow you away -- a standout. The Blues continue with I Love My Baby but Jimmie keeps us on our toes by varying the style. He then goes on to mix Blues, Rock and Country to come up with a winner. It's slightly reminiscent of Sammy Hagar, Marching To Mars era and Jimmie judges it well by keeping it short and dynamic. Right Side Of The Tracks is a modern, urban blues and it's such a pleasant change to be on the other side of the tracks for a while. There's some straightforward blues rock on No Pretense but it probably has some of the best guitar work on the album. Things are wound up with Happy, which is an upbeat, fast paced instrumental that shows exactly what he can do on guitar as he flits between jazz and rock.
I said that Jimmie Bratcher is a guitar toting Christian Bluesman but I didn't get the feeling that the messgae was being rammed down my throat and you can take whatever you wish from the album.

www.jimmiebratcher.com

David Blue.

South Side Slim – Raising Hell/Trouble On The South Side (Manifest).

South Side glares at you from the cover of the album like he means business and the opening track, Blues For Sure, confirms this. Vibrant and vigorous, it covers the youth in his voice and highlights the talent in one of the currently least known of the current crop of young guitar whiz kids. Roadblock is a funky blues that has a real attitude with shades of Prince and James Brown. This is followed up with more funky blues in the shape of 8 O’clock In The Morning. This has an eerie guitar feeling and will leave you asking the question, can South Side only play at top speed? Young Man is a more traditional, jazzy blues and the introduction of saxophone is welcome. South Side shows two sides of himself on the sophisticated blues of Comin’ To Your House and the strong and moody blues of Almost Daylight.

Raisin’ Hell is, as the title suggests, a rocking blues that allows Slim to let loose on guitar and boy, does he do just that. There’s a return to the funky blues style for Another Lonely Night and this just serves to confirm how strong a guitar player he is. He can do the traditional as well and You Never Can Tell is about as traditional as he gets. No matter what style he is playing there is no doubting his credentials as a top class guitarist. He sticks with the traditional style for Kitchen Floor and serves up what is probably the track of the album. He could be a big name if he produced more of this quality. There’s a big finish to the album with two more strong tracks, the fast paced jazzy blues of Big Money and I Wish I Was Blind, a Chicago blues. The latter is the better and suits his voice very well – a classy finish to a very good album.

Slim is still mean and moody on the cover of Trouble On The South Side but the cover belies the funky and soulful opener, Blue Rain. It's based on the blues theme of having little or no money and there's some gritty sax but not too much of Slim's guitar. The blues arrive in the shape of V8 Ford and Slim's guitar is unleashed. He goes a little over the top perhaps but that's just him and this is his one nod to traditional electric blues on the album. Funky Chicken is, as the title suggests, a funky blues and it has a very cool organ break. The powerful Last Man Standing is played in an Elmore James style and Slim takes it to the extreme. This is followed by another fast paced blues in the shape of Sunset And Vine and Victor G. Purvis turns in a strong performance on bass. Hell Hounds On My Trail is a strong Chicago blues and Slim really hammers his guitar, showing what an aggressive player he is. We stay in Chicago for Guilty Mind but he slows things right down. This is another strong song and Slim has certainly upped his game, both vocally and lyrically. There's a lovely rolling guitar solo that shows he can be gentle too.

Feelin' Pain sees a return to funky blues and marks another strong one off the conveyor belt. They just keep on coming and The Jam gives us guitar overload, not that that's a bad thing! I thought that Fire And Ice (The Smoking Gun)was going to be political but it turns into an accelerated guitar instrumental that's the musical equivalent of a nuclear bomb. Interview With Slim is a novel idea, putting the song in the form of an interview and explains his versions of the blues. Reminisin' is good, old style shuffling soul and there's some Spanish guitar on Ride With Me. This is a bit out of place on this album but it's pleasant enough. The same goes for the instrumental version before Slim finishes with the title track. This gives a chilled out R&B/soul finish and is fine but I do have to admit that I prefer Slim's in-your-face style.

www.southsideslim.com

David Blue.